The embodiments of the present invention relate to medical devices. More particularly, the embodiments relate to assemblies for deploying medical devices including occluding devices into a body cavity.
Medical devices such as embolization coils and plugs have been used as a primary occluding device for treatment of various arteriovenous malformations (AVM) and varicoceles, as well as for many other arteriovenous abnormalities in the body. Occluding devices are also used to repair abnormal shunts between arteries and veins, prevent or reduce blood flow to tumors, stop hemorrhaging as a result of trauma, and stabilize aneurysms to prevent rupture. Embolization coils, for example pushable fibered coils, may be made in a variety of sizes with varying diameters and may be made of several different materials including stainless steel and platinum. Occlusion devices may vary for differing purposes, e.g., to hold the device in place within a cavity or vessel and to pack the device within the vessel for enhanced occlusion.
Although current devices are adequate, in some cases delivery of such coils or plugs may be improved for more effective occlusion of fluid flow through a lumen of a body vessel. Many medical procedures for occluding blood flow through an artery or vein require a number of coils, since a single coil or two may not be sufficient to effectively occlude blood flow through a lumen of an artery or vein. In some cases, delivery of such a coil or a plug can involve pushing a coil through the lumen of a delivery catheter using a pusher element. In other cases, the device, such as the coil or plug, can be receive a threaded end of a delivery device, and the practitioner deploying the device can use rotational force to separate the device from the delivery mechanism.
In certain cases, delivery can be complicated because without some sort of external surface pushing back against the rotation, the device may simply rotate with the delivery member rather than becoming disengaged from it. In many cases, the external friction is derived from contact with the wall of the vessel in which the device is being deployed. This can be disadvantageous when the body cavity to which the device is being deployed is particularly delicate, such as in an aneurysm.